Board of Fisheries approves Western Aleutians cod fishing

According to KUCB-FM (via APRN), the Alaska Board of Fisheries has voted unanimously to open the pacific cod fishery in some state waters in the Western Aleutians. The approval is a challenge to National Marine Fisheries Service regulations intended to protect an endangered population of Steller sea lions, and could lead to further conflict between the state and federal officials. The vote came after an emergency petition of the board by the city of Adak, which argued economic damage as a result of the sea lion protections. Listen to much, much more, here, and find a link to a .pdf file of the City of Adak's petition itself at Deckboss, the fisheries blog.